Learn How to Change a Car Battery in a Few Simple Steps

You can learn how to change a car battery using a simple process. The mostimportant thing is to know how to handle the battery and the battery terminalssafely. Even more, changing your own car battery will help you become morefamiliar with your battery electrical terminals and feel more confident whenthe time comes to getting rid of terminal corrosion and servicing the battery.This will help to keep your ignition and starting systems working properly.

For this task, you'll only need a few common tools and somematerials--depending on your particular vehicle model, you might needa couple of special tools as well to make sure that everything goes backin place as it should. Once you have the necessary items, the procedurewill take you about an hour or less to complete.

Changing a Car Battery

1. Locate your car battery. Most vehicles store the battery under the hood, behind the headlight on the driver’s side. Other models carry the battery under the fender, a seat, or even inside the trunk or luggage compartment. Consult your car owner’s manual if you need some help.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

* After disconnecting the battery, you may need a code to reactivate your stereo equipment. Consult your car owner's manual, if necessary.

* Disconnecting the battery may erase the information stored in your car computer's memory. So the computer will need some engine start-and-shut-off cycles to relearn its driving strategy.

To preserve the computer memory, you have two main options: You can usea computer memory saver or a 9V battery and a couple of jumper wires. Beforeyou connect any of these devices, make sure to turn off all your caraccessories.

When using a memory saver, follow the manufacturer instructions. If you want touse a 9V battery, get a couple of jumper wires to connect the small battery toyour battery cables. To connect the jumper wires to the battery, you can buya 9V battery connector at your local electronic store. Keep in mind that youneed to respect polarity when connecting the jumper wires.

2. Lift and secure the hood open. Cover the fender and front of the vehicle--around the battery--with a rag or plastic sheet. This will protect the paint on your vehicle body from car battery acid and keep you from accidentally shorting the battery as you disconnect it.

3. Put on your safety glasses and acid resistant gloves. Remove the battery heat shield, if it has one, and set it aside along with its mounting screws so you do not lose them. You may need a large, standard screwdriver or wrench for this.

4. Loosen the bolt securing the battery negative (black) cable to the battery post. To prevent rounding off the nut that holds the bolt to the cable terminal, use a six-point wrench of the right size to loosen the nut while holding the bolt's head in position with another wrench. If your battery has side terminals, you will only need one wrench.

As you remove the battery cables, don't touch the positive and negative postsat the same time with a wrench--or similar metal tool--or you'll create anelectrical short circuit that may damage sensitive electronic equipment in yourcar. Also, keep in mind that batteries produce hydrogen, an invisible andhighly flammable gas. So a little spark may cause your battery to explode. Byremoving the negative cable first, you reduce the chances of producing a sparkas you disconnect your car battery.

5. Once you've loosened the grip of the cable terminal on the battery post, carefully pull the terminal off the post. If the terminal seems stuck, slightly pry it open with a flat-head screwdriver and try again. Or better yet, use a battery cable puller.

Car Computer Memory Saver

6. Secure the disconnected negative cable away from the battery post and proceed to disconnect the positive terminal following the same procedure.

7. A hold down clamp secures the battery to the bottom tray. Loosen and remove the screw on the hold down mechanism and set it aside.

8. Lift the car battery using the lifting strap attached to the battery, or grab the battery with your gloved hands and lift it out of the engine compartment.

9. Thoroughly clean the battery tray of debris and battery acid using a solution of warm water and baking soda to neutralize any acid residues (use 8 ounces of water per tablespoon of baking soda). Apply the solution with a soft brush and wipe the tray clean with old rags. You can also use this solution along with a battery post cleaning tool to remove acid form cable terminals, if necessary.

10. If you're reinstalling the same battery or a used one, thoroughly clean the battery case, including the top cover and posts. Use the same baking soda and warm water solution. Apply it with the soft brush. And don't let the solution seep under the filler caps. Then check the electrolyte level. The level should reach the bottom of the filler rings. Top off the electrolyte with distilled water, if necessary.

11. Clean the battery terminals, using the baking soda and warm water solution and a battery post cleaning tool, if necessary. Avoid using a knife to remove corrosion from the terminals. You may end up removing too much metal from the terminal and ruin it.

12. Install the new battery using the same procedure in the reverse order. Before connecting the battery cables, you may want to install treated felt washers on each battery post and apply a layer of petroleum jelly to the cable terminals after connecting the terminals. This not only inhibits corrosion buildup, but ensures that electrical and electronic circuits have the proper voltage as you crank up the engine. You can buy felt washers at any auto parts or department store.

13. Take your old battery to a recycling center for proper disposal, if you want to get rid of it.

Vehicle Repair Manuals

What to Keep in Mind:

* After disconnecting the battery, your stereo equipment may need a reactivation code to work properly. Consult your car owner's manual, if necessary.

* Disconnecting the battery may erase the information stored in your car computer's memory. In this case, the computer will need a few engine start-and-shut-off cycles to relearn its driving strategy.

To preserve the computer memory, you have two main options: You can use a computer memory saver or a 9V battery and a couple of jumper wires.

Once you become familiar with the connections, related components, and how tohandle them safely, you can service the battery with confidence and check electrolyte level, inspect and clean the battery case and connections at regular intervals. This will not only extend your battery service life, but also help your car starting and ignition systems operateefficiently.